Motor-vehicle.



s. D. WALDON.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPUCATION FILED MAR. 4, 1913- l, l?6,38. Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

Wzrzvassza- S. D. WALDON.

MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 14, I913.

Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

vw mm Zrir all/077147 WITNESSES:

SIDNEY WALDON 015 DETROIT, MICHIGAN ASSIGNOR T0 PACKARD MOTOR GARCOMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. as, rare.

Application filed. March 14, 1913. Serial No. 754,318.

To all whom it may concern Be it ;known that I,- SIDNEY D. WALDON, acitizen of the United States, and resident of Detroit, Wayne county,State of Michigan, have-invented certain new and useful Improvements inMotor-Vehicles, of which the-following is a specification. Thisinvention relates to motor vehicles, and particularly to the drivinggears thereof.

The invention may be said also to relate broadly to gears and meansfor'lubricating More specifically, the invention relates to means forfeeding oil either by gravity or under pressure to the contact surfacesof intermeshing gears.

1118 invention is shown as applied to a worm gear and its inter-meshingworm wheel as these gears are used in motor vehicle 1 construction, butit.will be understood that the invention is not limited to .thisparticular type of gearing nor to the use of such gearing in motorvehicles.

In motor vehicle construction it is sometimes foundnecessary ordesirableto place the worm of a worm and gear driving mechanism abovethe gear. With the worm in this position, it is not so easilysupplied.with lubricant as when it is mounted at the bottom of the casing, andit has therefore become present practice to' use a very heavy oil withthese gears so that the worm wheel will readily carry the oil to thegear above it.

One of the objects of the present invention is to positively feed oilfrom the bottom of the casing to theupperor worm gear, so that a lighteroil may be used for this purpose.

Another object of the invention is to feed 'oil under pressure to thecontacting surfaces of a pair of intermeshing gears. In the present.case this object isaccomplished by feeding the oil through one of thegears.

ing oil to the engaging surfaces. As one means foraccomplishing thisobject, the present application illustrates a plurality of oilreservoirs from which oil is fed alternately, but not simultaneously,either by gravity or bypressure, to the contact surfaces of the gears.Thus at least one of these reservoirs always remains full when the gearsare stopped, and is readyto deliver, its oil to the contact surfacesimmediately after the gearshave started to rotate again.

Another object of the invention is to supply oil, either by gravity orunder pressure, to the "bearings of one of the shafts upon which thegears are mounted.

Another object of the invention is to provide an .oil circulating pumpon the driving shaft of a motor vehicle and so connect it with thedriving gears as to supply oil from the gear casing to the gear surfacesand bearings above the normal oil level.

Other objects. of the invention will appear from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the drawings which form a part ofthe speclncation, and in which,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the central or gear casingportion of a motor vehicle rear axle embodying this invention; Fig. 2 is.a rear view of the axle shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is anenlarged verticalsectional view through the motor vehicle driving shaft shown in Fig. 1,together with adjacent portions of the axle casing and the drivinggears; Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fi 5 isa simi lar' section on the line 55 0 Fig. 3; and

F g. 6 is a similar section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

.Referrin to the drawings, 10 represents a motor ve icle driving axle,and 11 is the enlarged central portion thereof which forms a gearcasing. It will be understood;

that this axle 10 is a non-rotating axle and that the driving axlesections are mounted therein and connected by difleren'tial gear-- ingwhich is driven by a gear 12, which, in the present instance, is shownas in the form of a worm gear wheel. One of the sections of the drivingaxle is shown at 13 in Fig. 1.

The casing 11 forms an oil well for the gear wheel 12,'and an opening 14is formed in the upper part of the casing, through which the gear wheel12 projects. This opening is provided with a cover 15, which IS formedwith an enlarged central part 16 inwhich are the bearings 17 and 18 forthe driving shaft'19. The driving shaft 19 has stood that the pitch ofthe gears is such that the worm wheel may drive the worm, as when thevehicle is coasting.

Besides the radial bearing 18, the shaft 19 is provided with a doublethrust bearing 23, the shaft parts or these bearings being secured onthis shaft by means of a nut 24 threaded on the end of the shaft. Thethrust bearing is also arranged between a shoulder 25 on the cover 15and a cap 26 which is secured over an opening 27 in the rear end of theenlargement 16. This cap is secured to the cover by a series of bolts28, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Collars 29 and 30 also form part ofthe securing means for the thrust bearing 23 on the shaft 19.

From the construction so far described, it ./will be seen that some ofthe oil in the lower part of the casing 11 will be carried by the teethof the worm wheel up to the worm by which it is driven, and therebylubricate'to some extent the contacting surfaces of the gears. However,it has been found that when large gears are used and very heavy toothpressures employed, due to transmission of considerable horse-powerthrough the gears, the oil is squeezed out from between the gear teeth,and cutting sometimes takes place. To obviate this difficulty, a heavieroil is used, which of course will be less liable to be pressed out frombetween the teeth, but lubrication is not so positive with this oil incold weather. The present invention is intended to make more certain thelubrication of the contact surfaces of these gears, and to provide forthe use of a thin oil and supply it directly to all of the teeth in meshin sufficient quantities for all requirements. One embodiment ofmeansfor so feeding the oil directly to the teeth of theintermeshing gears isshown in this application and will be presently described, but it willbe understood that other embodiments may be used without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

The shaft 19 is longitudinally bored, as shown at 31 in Fig. 3, andseveral series of channels 32 areformed in the worm and the shaft andextend from the interior of the shaft 19 to the contact surfaces 33 ofthe teeth of the worm. These series'of channels 32 are preferablyarranged longitudinally of the shaft 19, as shownin Figs. 3

and 4, for the purpose of deliveringoil at intervals during the rotationof the,-,' shaft.

The shaft 19 is also provided with transverse channels 34 and an annularchannel 35 connecting therewith, and the collar 30 has a registeringpassage or series of passages lubricating oil to be fed to the channels32 and 34. This tube is preferably divided into two compartments, as bya longitudinal rib 38 which extends from the bottom of the tube nearlyto the top thereof. The forward or inner end of the tube is closed by aplug 39, and the rearward end by a plug 40. A cross rib 41 closes therear end of the compartments or reservoirs 42, thus making thereservoirs independent, except for communication with each other overthe top of the rib 38. a

' The tube is provided with outlet ports or slots 43, which are arrangedat the bottoms of the respective compartments 42 and eX- tend along thetube in the zone of the worm 20. These ports communicate with thechannels 32 as the shaft 19 is rotated about the tube 37, and it will beseen that the series of channels 32 and the ports 43 are so relativelyarranged and proportioned that the compartments 42 will deliveroilalternately to the surfaces of the worm 20, one of the ports 43 goingout of register with the channels 32 before the other port 43 goes intoregister with any of such channels. Therefore, presuming that thecompartments 42 are full of oil when the gears stop rotating, only oneof the compartments 42 can be drained of oil, as only one of them canpossibly be in register with any of the channels 32. Therefore, also, assoon as the gears start to rotate again, the other or full compartmentwill immediately be placed in communication with one of the series ofchannels 32, and the oil in said compartment will fiow by gravity or bypressure directly to the surfaces of the worm. Thus oil is immediatelydelivered to the contact surfaces of the gears long before the oil inthe bottom of the casing could be brought to the contact surfaces by thegear wheel 12.

Of course, it will'be obvious that the gears may stop 1n the positionshown in Fig.4,

so that neither of the compartments 42 will be drained, as in that casenone of the chan: nels 32 is in register with the ports However, as soonas the worm starts to rotate, one of the series of channels 32 will bealmostimmediately in register with one of the ports 43, and the oil willbe at once delivered to the contact surfaces.

The tube is also formed with a port 44 and an annular groove 45, whichlatter registers constantly with the channel 34 which delivers oilthrough the annular channel 35 and passage 36 to the rear bearings ofthe shaft 19. As the port 44 is in the upper wall of the tube 37, itwill be obvious that oil will not be delivered to the bearings untilthetube is full. This will prevent draining the compartment 42 into thebearing housing. Obviously, the oil delivered to the bearings 18 and 23will overflow from the housing back iilto the casing 11.

The means for supplying lubricant to the tube 37 may comprise anysuitable device for. the purpose, and in the present embodi-.

' housing 46 is formed in two parts, secured together, as by bolts 47,one of the parts being shown as integral with the cap 26.

The tube 37 extends beyond the end of the shaft 19 and into the pumphousing 46,

where it .is secured and keyed to a boss 48 on one of the parts of saidhousing. The key 49 for securing the tube against turning in the boss 48is shown particularly in Fig. 6.

A pair of pump gears 50 and 51 are properly mounted to rotate in thehousing 46, with the gear 50 in axial alinement with the shaft 19. Saidlatter gear is provided with clutching jaws 52 which cotiperate withsimilar jaws 53 on the end of the shaft 19, so that the gear 50 isdirectly driven by said shaft.

It will be seen that with the above described construction, the pumpgears and the tube 37 may be readily removed by disconnecting the rearpart of the pump from the cap 26, without in any way disturbingthebearings of the shaft 19. Also, the entire pump may be removed bydisconnecting the cap 26 from the cover 15.

The pump housing 46 is formed with inlet and outlet channels 54 and 55respectively, the latter communicating with the interior of the rear endof theg'tube 37 as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. The inlet 54 is connected bya pipe 56 with the lower part of the casing 11, whereby the pump willdraw oil from the bottom of said casing and deliver it under pressure tothe tube 37 from which it is delivered to the contact surfaces of thegears and to the bearings of the shaft 19, as above set forth.

It is believed that the full operation of the invention is clear fromthe above detailed description.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a pair of intermeshing gears, of an oilsupplybelow the gears, and means-for circulating said oil facesthereof-and from said surfaces to said supply.

2. The combination with a casing, a worm Wheel mounted therein, and aworm in mesh with and adapted to drive said wheel and mountedsubstantially horizontally above said wheel, of means operative upon afractional rotation of said worm for feeding oil to the contactingsurfaces of said worm and wheel.

3. The combination with a casing, a worm wheel mounted therein, and aworm in mesh with and adapted to drive said wheel and mountedsubstantially horizontally above said wheel, of a plurality of oilcontaining reservoirs, and means for feeding oil alternately from saidreservoirs to'said worm.

4. The combination with a casing, a worm wheel mounted therein, and aworm in mesh with and adapted to drive said wheel and mountedsubstantially horizontally above said wheel, of a plurality of oilcontaining reservoirs, and means controlled by the rotation of said wormfor feeding oil alternately from said reservoirs to said worm, wherebynot more than one of said reservoirs is drained when the worm and wheelare stopped.

5. The combination with an oil containing' gear case, a worm wheel insaid case running in the oil, and a worm above said worm wheel, ofmeansfor distributing oil under pressure at a point of contact between theworm and the worm wheel. a

6. The combination with a gear case containing oil, a worm wheel, aworm, and bearings therefor, of means for delivering oil under pressureto said bearings and to points of contact between said worm and wormwheel.

7. The-combination with a case containing oil, a worm member running inthe oil, and a worm member above said oil, said worm members making adriving contact, of means operated by one of said members for deliveringoil under pressure to the contacting surfaces of said members. v

8. lhe combination with a case containing oil, a worm member running inoil, a worm member above said oil, said worm members making a driving.contact, of a pump driven by one of said members, and means fordistributing oil under pressure from said pump to the driving surfacesof said members. I a

9. The combination with a gear case, a worm wheel, a worm, and bearingstherefor, of means mounted within said case for positively deliveringoil to said bearings and t0 the driving surfaces of said worm and wormwheel.

10. The combination with gear casing,

a worm having a hollow portion, and a dis I tributer therein having aplurality of comthrough one of the gears to the driving surpartmentS andlongitudinal openings therefrom, said worm having perforations adaptedto register'with said openings, of means for delivering oil underpressure to said distributer.

11. The combination with a gear casin a driving worm having a hollowportion and a plurality of perforations leading from said hollow portionto the surface thereof, bearings in said casing, a distributer in saidhollow portion having openings adapted to register with saidperforations, and means for positively delivering a supply of oil tosaid distributer.

12. The combination with a gear casing, of a worm having a hollowportion and having perforations leading from the hollow portion to thesurface of the worm, supporting bearings for said worm, a hollowdistributer in said worm having a plurality of compartments therein, andhaving openings from said compartments adapted to register with saidperforations upon the rotation of said worm, a worm wheel driven by saidworm, andimeans driven by said worm for delivering oil under pressure to1 said distributer.

13. The combination with a gear casing,

of a worm having a hollow portion and hav- 7 ing perforations leading tothe contact surfaces of the worm teeth, bearings for said worm, a hollowdistributer inclosed by" said worm, having a plurality of compartmentstherein, and having openings adapted to register with said perforationsand with said bearings, and means for positively'delivering oil to saiddistributer.

14. The combination with a casing, of a,

extending from said pump into said shaft, .and means for supplying oilto said pump.

tube mounted in said cap and extending into said shaft, said tube beingremovable with said cap, and means for supplying oil to said tube.

17. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the rear axle casing, anddriving gears therein, of an oil pump mounted in the axle casing anddriven by one of the shafts of said gears and means for carrying the oilunder pressure from the pump to the gears.

18. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the rear axle casing havingdriving and driven shafts therein and worm gears connecting said shafts,of a gear pump having one of its gears in alinement with the drivingshaft and driven thereby, and means for conveying oil from said pump tothe gears.

19. In a motor vehicle, the combination With the axle casing, the axlesections therein, the worm wheel connected to said axle sections, andthe driving shaft mounted in bearings in the casing abovethe worm wheeland having a worm in mesh with said wheel, of an oil pump mounted onsaid casing at the end of said driving shaft and adapted to supply oilto said gears and bearings.

20. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the axle casing having anenlarged central portion with a top opening, and a cover for saidopening having an enlarged portion with a rear opening, of a drivingshaft mounted in the enlarged part of said cover, a cap to close saidrear opening, an oil pump secured to said cap, and means for drivingsaid oil pump from said driving shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

SIDNEY D. VVALDON.

Witnesses:

LE- R01 J. WILLIAMS, H, B. KNAP.

